Phases of the Moon
by Ookamikyo
Summary: An animal in Central raises eyebrows among the Military. But is there more than meets the eye when a mauling takes place? An alternative chimera fic... Pairings Later On YAOI
1. Task of the AWD

Disclaimer: I own only the clothes I am wearing and nothing of the characters I am writing…They remain property of whom I redeem as Gods XP

Musky, humid, damp; the streets of Central were bathed in the luminescent flicker of street lamps, reflecting off the wet cobbled paths. The midnight sky was laden with vast, choking grey clouds. Silence prevailed, bar the patter of rain against shadowed buildings.

A lone figure emerged from the local tavern. He crouched by the door, bolting and padlocking the various latches. Contented, he stood, holding his sodden hat to his head and began to jog toward home, unaware of his shared surroundings or the gleaming sulphur eyes trailing after him.

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Gloved hand resting against the cool windowpane, Colonel Mustang sighed, pressing his forehead up to the glass. Rain had never been one of his preferred elements and the dark clouds always had a way of making his thoughts deviate from their intended track. The latter being the papers awaiting his attentions upon the desk, which his dark eyes gazed upon with disdain.

Resolutely, Mustang took in a deep breath and withdrew himself to his leather seat. He rubbed his eyes and began to read,

'**Colonel Roy Mustang:**

**I am writing you because I am convinced that current Central State policy toward Drachma is not succeeding and that we may soon face a threat in North far more serious than any we have known since the end of the Ishbal Rebellion. In your upcoming state military address, you have an opportunity to chart a clear and determined course for meeting this threat to the Amestris' North City and the town of Brigg. I urge you to seize that opportunity and define a new strategy that would secure the interests of the Central and other allied provinces around…'**

He placed down the paper and brought his white gloved hands to his head, massaging his temples with the coarse ignition cloth. 'Heh, people are so clueless and optimistic. Why send a letter like this to a Colonel? Surely a Brigadier General has a greater chance of swaying the Fuhrer…'

"Maybe it's because the people know that you have their best interests at heart and aren't corrupted by a material World." Mustang, shook out of his supposed silent reverie, looked up at his First Lieutenant, Riza Hawkeye. Seeing the confusion in Roy's eyes she decided to add, "You were thinking aloud." The colonel gave a fleeting smile, contemplating the letter again before placing it unceremoniously upon the desk.

"Hmm, I doubt you entered the room just to give me moral support. I suppose I should enquire as to your being here?" Mustang flashed his charming smile; Riza nodded and gave a short salute paying no heed to the flirtatious manner.

"Colonel, we have just received orders to aid local authorities in the case of a fatal mauling that occurred at approximately zero-two-hundred hours. The circumstances indicate an animal attack." Roy gave out a snort in disapproval, his nose wrinkling in distaste as he watched Riza give a quizzical glance in his direction.

"Then why not call the animal welfare department? We're soldiers!" Roy began to rant, annoyance coursing its way through his being. "As if Breda would be up to the challenge of dealing with a wild dog, or Fuery with anything larger than a household feline…" As quickly as the rant began, a malicious twist smirked its way across his features. "And where would the bane of my right hand be? Surely this animal problem would be well within Fullmetal's diminutive grasp."

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"Aaachooooooo!"

Edward rubbed at his nose, blaming the sneeze on the dusty train carriage. He glanced over at his brother, the metallic grey armour reflecting the sun that crept in through the window. Edward exhaled loudly to get Al's attention and rapped his fingers along the arm of the wooden bench.

"Hmm? You aren't hungry again, are you brother?" If Al had any other means of showing exasperation, he would. Ed pouted, pushing golden bangs out of his eyes before crossing his arms. Al promptly continued, before Ed had a chance of voicing his disapproval and indignation.

"You know it's good that we're heading back to central. I wonder if anything's changed since we were last there?" Ed rolled his eyes.

"Nothing's going to of changed, Al! That bastard Colonel is still going to be there…acting like err, the bastard he is! Hughes still has a camera doesn't he?"

"Eh…hmm, I guess you're right brother. But I do miss them; we've been gone for almost a month now!" Ed gave a small huff; sure he missed them but as soon as they returned Ed would want to leave again. Nothing productive was being achieved by staying in Central. 'pssh, all this time wasting. And just because that bastard thinks it's amusing to send us on wild goose chases!' Edward silently seethed, clenching his fist tightly and grinding his teeth. All he knew was that this time, the Colonel had damn well spill the proverbial beans before he got a well deserved automail limb to the groin. Noticing the raging aura around his brother, Al decided it best to slowly edge away in the opposite direction, silently praying the three hour train journey would hurry up and finish.


	2. Of Dogs and Demons

_(I know chapter one was puny…it was mainly experimental. Further chapters will be longer. Thanks for reading/continuing to read and a thank you to my one review so far ____ Any criticisms are welcomed.)_

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**Chapter 2: Of Dogs and Demons**

An assignment, (easy…apparently) was thrust into the apathetic grasp of the pint-sized alchemist. Three pages of mind-numbing scribbles, each having been signed by the man who was currently squeezing portions of Ed's invaluable time and effort into chasing geese. According to the assignment, this particular goose had fangs.

"Sorry, Colonel. This one's out of my jurisdiction." Ed stated shaking the offending pages before the walnut desk, which lay between him and his superior.

Then came the smirk…the oh-so-full-of-myself smirk, "Oh, saying you're above the tasks I issue, Fullmetal? Or rather, a case of you being afraid of stray dog, considering you're on a leash."

Ed glared from behind his golden bangs, his temper rising with Mustangs obvious attempt to rile him. "And just what's that supposed to imply? You don't know what you're on about, Colonel Bastard. I'm not the militaries personal lapdog; you know, so don't pretend you own me or know me"

"It's quite easy to size you up, Edward." Roy explained coolly, casually inspecting his nails. He paused briefly as obsidian eyes met amber and added, "Especially when there's _so_ little measuring to do." A verbal explosion shook the neighbouring offices as the enraged, crimson clad alchemist took out his frustrations with a passionate cornucopia of vibrant profanity. The staff went about their business, knowing only too well that the Fullmetal alchemist had yet another assignment.

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Standing over the greying corpse, Ed swallowed the lump of bile slowly making its way up his throat. The gashes were deep on the medium framed man, with dark contusions around the torn flesh. "Obviously the man was dead, well before he had the chance to bleed out."

"Bite marks evident on the left shoulder, with a maximum depth of two point seven inches. A total of eight slashes to the lumbosacral area and legs, believed to be sustained from four fingered claws. Then we have the lower abdomen," The forensic officer removed the sterile sheet from the mans lower half. Ed's eyes widened with revulsion and he turned away momentarily, his tanned skin visibly paling.

"As you can see, the victim was ripped open and eaten. The lower spine's been completely severed. There's no other sign of gnawing in the surrounding bone tissue, which indicates the bone was sliced in one fluid motion. Whatever did this could err, bite through bone as if it were a twig! I…" Edward switched off from that point. He eyed the cavernous void that was once the mans intestines, the yellowed tinge to the thin layer of fat, meshing together with the greying insides all torn and tattered, a slither of silver gleamed from within corpse, showing that whatever had started to eat him ripped straight through his back to show the table beneath.

"Well?"

Silence erupted in the room. The forensic officer not even attempting to mask his doubt in the young alchemist's capabilities, whilst Ed could only chew at his bottom lip…entertaining ideas of feeding that Bastard Colonel to whatever mutilated the middle-aged man.

"Felidae Panthera, Canis Lupus, Ursidae Ursinae…" Ed began to list, not expecting anything to fit the bill, as the officer by his side raised an inquisitive brow. "All these are major families of carnivores, capable of taking a humans life. However, only the wolf is indigenous to this region. Were there any remnants from the attacker?" The alchemist asked, as he peeked at the gashes on the victim's thigh, mimicking a swiping motion with his automail arm.

"A small vestige, but it's inconclusive. A few dark hairs and a fragment of a tooth, found embedded in the spinal column." The officer arranged his glasses, ushering Ed towards the back countertop upon which a case of empty test tubes and a microscope stood, all cold and sterile. Shades of grey lit by a fluorescent manmade glow. Ed sighed inwardly, _'both a med lab and a morgue…this guy must hate his job!_' Emerging from the fridge, the officer placed down a clear polythene bag, its contents almost undetectable.

Ed picked up the bag, holding it to the light. To his eyes, nothing looked amazingly out of place…the contents just like that of a dog or wolf. _'Pathetic'_…he started running a basic (and obvious) hypothesis. A rabid dog gets loose attacks the first living thing it sees (unlucky, but it this poor sap). Find the dog. Put it down. The job's done.

"We've run tests, it's not dog hair. It gives similarities to that of a wolf, but it's too fine. There are also irregularities in the tooth fragment. It resembles that of a wolf's molar, but it's too narrow at the base."

Ed groaned with dejection. That speech was the most uninformative one he could have given. "So you're trying to tell me it's a dog…but not a dog? How about I say I'm here, but not here and leave? May I?" He gestured towards the microscope, waggling the bag in his fingers. He proceeded to open the bag, placing one slide under the scope, and adjusting the reflector to illuminate the thread of evidence.

Focusing became a chore, his eyes were bleary and he was beginning to see what the man had meant. The hair, too fine to be a canine…but retained a semblance. Ed changed the resolution. "The outer structure is almost that of a large dog…maybe wolf? The ridges are prominent, but sparse. There's also a fine layer of sebum, but it doesn't coat all the way to the tip. It's almost as if…" Ed trailed off, bringing his head from the view point. A quick hand movement plucked one of his own golden hairs from his crown. Wincing briefly, he inspected the minuet thread. Concentration gave way to a flicker of suspicion as a delicate hand slid the lone hair next to that of the suspects. A slight increase in resolution was all it took to Ed's delight, but it was there…another similarity, however small, it was still that shred of proof. The tooth too had its familiar sharp crown of a canine's, but it was stumpy at the base and the shear fact that it had chipped off…

"This animal attack has gotten more involved with the military than first expected." The interest in the officers eyes lit up, obviously missing Ed's uninformative response.

"There's a thin layer of sebum on the strand plucked from my head, but it's a small quantity and barely goes past the first inch away from the scalp. This is very characteristically human unlike that of a canine, as they don't shower (or preen like a feline for example). The strand found from the suspect also has the oily residue, more than that of humans, but still too small a quantity to be of any use to a canine. The strand has too few ridges; it's too smooth, too…human. The tooth looking like a deformed human molar on a meat diet or its equivalent, 'wolf gone vegetarian'. I can only think that we're dealing with a hybrid, a chimera…" He was set in a rhythm snapping his fingers with each new fact sounding to the world like an impromptu flamenco dancing Colonel Mustang.

"You said the DNA tests were inconclusive?" The briefest of nods was given in reply. "That would make sense. The test was for one _or _the other, not a perfect blend of both, resulting in a mutated double helix."

The theory was sound, plausible and damned well just felt right. A creation of alchemy, cursed…seeking vengeance on those who bore it into existence. As Ed ran the new information through his brain, the brief image of a small girl, bright infectious smile and an incurable innocence flickered behind his eyes.

'_Nina…'_ His victorious demeanour waned instantly.

"Pardon?" He'd run away with himself. The entire situation had nothing to do with that girl. The forensic officer was trying to get his attention. "Anymore evidence or do you want us to retest, see if we can back up your analysis?"

"No, I'm sure…positive even. There's proof of more extensive articulation from the shoulder than would be found from a normal canine. The gashes on the thigh show a diagonal swiping motion, evidence enough that this is no wolf.

Ed wiped his brow, the room was getting smaller. He had what he needed, there was no point hanging around the dead any longer, the pungent (slightly sweet) tang to the air irritated his sinuses. A curt thank you was given and a formal shake of the hand. "I hope you get lucky with this chimera of yours."

'_Funny, I never even thought to learn his name…' _and with this the alchemist left the officer to his business.


End file.
